>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank.

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>> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions in capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news reporting from washington. i am katty kay. the mayor of toronto admits to smoking cracked cocaine but see his net quitting. after all it was only once during a trunk and stupor. >> i know i embarrassed everyone bethe city and i will

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forever sorry. syria'snd illness, children are at risk for an outbreak of polio. and destination mars. countriese club of trying to find signs of life on the red planet. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. at a press conference this afternoon, mayor rob ford said stay in office despite acknowledging he has smoked cracked cocaine. after apologizing to the people of his city, he says he wants to get back to work. he had denied the allegations

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for months but recently police said they had a video of him smoking cracked. here is the latest. >> meet rob ford, elected mayor three years ago, a conservative a larger-than- life personality. his behavior has become stranger and stranger. >> his behavior has been extraordinary. he has been caught in florida smoking marijuana. he was caught in toronto attacking other fans and was thrown out of the stadium. he denies it. >> denial has become his default position in recent weeks. by the time this picture emerged of him outside of a toronto rumors were rife in which he is pictured smoking cocaine. >> i can't change the past. i can only move forward and

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learn from the past. i am doing.re you >> still no admission of the use of crack cocaine despite the fact the toronto police were conducting surveillance on its own mayor. tenuous relationship with the truth was becoming too apparent and today he decided to set the record straight. >> i have smoked crack cocaine. am i an addict? no. i tried it, probably about a year ago. wase have been times when i in a drunken stupor. that is why i want to see the tape. >> what started as comedy turn did sendand may yet into tragedy. rob ford appeared before the media once again fighting back tears, apologizing for his

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action that made no mention of resigning. >> i sincerely, sincerely, sincerely apologize. >> the mayor has yet to be charged with a crime and says he will be running for reelection next year. news,willis, bbc washington. >> rob portman says it was a difficult day for him. i think it was a difficult day for the people of toronto. rebels have admitted defeat. it ends a bloody this -- has killedthat thousands. revolutionary surrendered after congolese forces, backed by the united nations, recaptured strongholds in the east of the country. andy harding has this report. >> could this be one of the last artillery shells to scar the green hills of eastern congo? there had been conflicts here

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for a generation but today one major rebellion came to an end. rare victory for the soldiers, from the inventories we ragtag -- from the g army.usly ragta they were forced to give up the fight. crucial to the breakthrough where these troops from a new united nations force, working alongside the congolese army. for all of those involved in trying to stabilize the country, this kind of aggressive action that has been lacking in the past. >> this is certainly a significant step in the right direction. it has to be followed by the disarming of the other armed groups and a broader political dialogue. >> the instability in congo stretches way back to the rwandan genocide of 1994. the ethnic conflict between them

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spilled over into neighboring congo, a country falling apart. ever since then, millions of civilians have suffered at the hands of a bewildering range of militias and rebel armies and their foreign backers. notably rwanda. many are celebrating a rare military victory and perhaps a sign of things to come. it is in disarray. we do not have to hide again. we will not accept this anymore.n in the drc >> a little skepticism is in order. are one of many groups active. the congolese state is still weak and corrupt. today the gunfire has paused in these hills. but these troubles are not over.

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andrew harding, bbc news. congo andt of hope in long may it last. now efforts to reach a political solution to the syrian war ran into hurdles in geneva today. diplomats failed to set a date for a peace conference. the breakdown comes as humanitarian groups are warming of health problems inside syria, including the first outbreak of polio in 14 years. our correspondent as one of the fees overseas -- one of the few overseas journalists reporting. she has been to a clinic in damascus. >> two drops and many tears. protecting against polio, one of the most devastating childhood diseases. the clinic is packed with parents anxious to vaccinate their children. the children who got polio, she tells me. but thank god we have the vaccines. this center has some of the best

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health care there is in syria. families know it is safe to bring their children. it is not the same across the rest of the country. syria used to be polio free since the late 1990's. and now an area torn by fighting, there is a least 10 confirmed cases and fears there could be more. those cases were brought here to the children's hospital in the capital. the hospital is on alert for any children with possible symptoms. doctor oversees the process. she is in charge of the government's immunization program. >> it is a sudden disease with no symptoms. children may become paralyzed in one or both legs. iis is a huge challenge and will fight until there is no more polio. >> it is her fight in the midst of war.

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aid agencies say half a million children need to be vaccinated. >> in some areas it is difficult to implement the vaccination. if we want to control it, the campaign should be very short. and wide. this is the real problem we're facing. we do not have access to all of the high-risk areas. >> under growing pressure, syria 's foreign minister called in the press to highlight the humanitarian crisis. syria is responsible for every child, he said. child is every vaccinated against polio is the government prepared to do everything possible including working with the opposition? >> as far as the cooperation with armed groups with terrorist they have tolieve medicine should

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reach each child. and usually we asked the united makens organizations to the necessary contacts. we shall help in this direction. the children, agencies are calling on all sides to cease fire to allow vaccinations. the opposition accuses the government of blocking medical aid to areas under their control. this disease spreads fast and with thousands of syrians crossing borders every day to escape the war, polio threatens not just syria. too many children affected by that long more. a quick look at other news, thousands of pedophiles have been caught offering cash for a child to perform sex acts in front of a webcam. the charity gathered out a sting operation over several months.

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the 10-year-old filipino girls they used a computer animation of a fake child. the names of 1000 people, including 245 from the united states, have been sent to interpol. your many has asked britain to respond to reports in the sea is being used as a covert listening post. the nasa in the united states suggest britain could be operating a spy station on the roof of the building. i may have joined a spirited group when it successfully launched a destined for mars. already it is the most ambitious project for the space agency and brings new focus to the asian space race. and north has sent us this report. >> the countdown to the first mission to mars, hopes of

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lifting the country into a space the super league. it was a textbook launch. if all goes to plan, the probe the rocket is carrying willow will orbit mars, searching for signs of life. it will be almost a year before it reaches the red planet and success can be judged. some are asking, whether india should be trying to join this club. the real goal many believe is destined for mars before china. >> in asia, there is a new space race. the asian space race between the regional rivals, india and china. in most aspects, china has beaten india. but in the aspect of reaching aheadindia has a window of china. >> there has also been controversy over the cost of the

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mission when aliens still live in poverty and received british aid. some question the government's priorities. we do not been told have money, sanitation, employment, nutrition. we are told we do not have the money. to mars but we should ensure the minimum rights of the people. >> for many, these are questions for another time. for now, they are celebrating as the rocket heads for mars. andrew north, bbc news. >> amazing pictures. for more on the impact of the launch, the challenge ahead, i spoke with dr. ross irwin, a geologistould -- a who studies mars. what exactly does the state cost spacecraft hope to find? >> a number of them are going to look at the surface of mars, some of them are going to look at the atmosphere, looking for

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the composition of the atmosphere and whether it contains methane. >> it is crowded up there. indy is not the first country to try to learn something. >> that is right. there are two u.s. rovers on the surface of mars and two orbiters. there is another u.s. orbiter going out later this month. are theyt extent cooperating? >> in some cases they have international collaboration where different nations have provided instruments on the spacecraft. platform provided a for missions from other countries to study the moon as well. >> the question is, we have these rovers, we have several countries trying to find traces of life on mars, are we any closer to knowing whether the red planet has or potentially in the future support life? >> we know a lot about the

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environment of mars today. seem to have a lot of methane in the atmosphere. if there is life, it does not seem to have a big effect on the atmosphere in the way it does on the earth. looking back further into the past, mars had a whether climate , it was warmer than it is now. there was water on the surface. it was hospitable for life. >> of the potential was life was there, do we try to find out whether it could be there in the future? >> that is the ultimate hope. we would like to put people on the surface of mars. it would probably start as individual missions, maybe a base on mars like the ones we have in antarctica. able to seel be people -- >> in your lifetime? >> i hope so. not by much. see someone walking on mars in my lifetime.

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maybe around the time i retire. but as far as whether there will be a base on mars -- >> which brings me to another question, why does it take when you're? i am worried i'm going to be retired before the spacecraft gets to mars. what takes so long? >> when you go from the earth to the mars, when you reach mars, it is on the opposite side of the sun from where it started. you do that to save fuel. >> that means it is further away. >> that is right. you are not just going to the orbit of mars but all the way around the sun as well. , thanks for coming in. still to come tonight, can a republican state be the answer to a democratic president's health care woes? we report from kentucky where the governor wants change. >> they get up every day and roll the dice and pray they do not get sick.

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they know they are one dag -- diagnosis away from bankruptcy. >> today is election day in the united states and among the issues on the ballot in washington state, a push to increase the minimum wage to $15. that is double the current national minimum. in this small town on isrica's west coast, this part of a group of dispense their evenings going door to door, canvassing for change. spans 26 kilometers, home to 27,000 people, members of this small community are pushing for big change. increase tone, an the minimum wage for some workers to $15 an hour. advocates say people in low skill jobs should be able to make enough to live.

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in the small apartment, this person supports his wife, son, and his mother. despite working full-time, he finds making ends meet tough. >> it will be easy because i have no money in my hand. it is hardly enough to pay for everything. >> while the minimum wage in the u.s. has steadily increased over the years, the actual value has declined. comparatively, people are now earning less. main economic engine, the international airport. if the minimum wage increases to $15 an hour, most of the 6300 people who will benefit work here. yous also at the airport will find detractors, those who say that is unaffordable.

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here couldpens spread to other american cities. toesident obama can't seem catch a break to change american health care. the website is a mess. people are not signing up and republicans are doing what they can to weaken the law. maybe he should take a trip to kentucky. the southern state has become a symbol of success in the rollout of obamacare. mark mardell has been to investigate what is going on. >> kentucky is a land of contrasts, from the beauty of of racehorses to the poverty the rural landscape. it is the worst of the 50 states in cancer, not far from heart disease and premature death. it is the sort of place where obamacare is meant to make a

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difference. this person hopes it does because she has had some bad news. the cancer is back. >> it is in my bone marrow. i have to stay focused. i have a daughter, you know. >> if you do get greater cover, how much difference will it make? >> a big difference. it might take a load off of me. obama has done something great. you know, for the united states. isple complain that nobody going to be totally satisfied. >> after a month of asking, nobody can tell her what it will mean for her. that is critical. obamacare is the biggest, most important thing the president has done. certain to be his legacy because it will have an impact on the finances and lives of millions of americans. or ill?tion, for good >> we are dead in the water

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until you have your drivers license. >> is person is trying to sign up another customer. >> we have had glitches, but we have overcome them. we are moving along. in the past i have signed up over 100 people. >> a lot better than the national scheme, which has been in shambles. the democrat governor is spending a billion dollars to expand the health care program to the poorest. >> most of these people have never had health coverage in their lives. day andey get up every roll the dice and pray the do not get sick. are one badey diagnosis away from bankruptcy. >> this is a conservative state, 60% voted for him mitt romney. some said they dislike is not just political, it is personal. >> it means higher cost. it means a bigger burden on a college student that is tens of

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thousand dollars in debt. >> is person is just the sort of person obamacare is designed to help. he could not get any insurance. now companies have to cover him. >> it is not affordable. it is not affordable for my wife and my children. when you add me to the mix, that makes it more expensive. >> the obamacare sign up is looking good in the state because of its policy. how it goes in the long run will be more important. collection may have a bad name but tonight we're not talking about the nsa. instead, new york city is collecting a vast pool of information to help the city run smarter. we spent a day in the data center. here is what we found. place in new york, information is pouring out.

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zeros and ones. the big apple's data, gathered for the people. >> the revolution has just began. hold the city accountable for what we do. with all that stuff, people are scared about big data. we are doing b-day -- and data for good, for regular people. >> this city is gathering data and distributing data like never before. tearing down the walls between agencies who make the city work smarter. it is brilliant and banal. >> this morning i found out there was something we know about boilers. how below grade in the basement it might be and then you overlay that with the flat area for the 500 year flood zone and there you have your priority. to make sure that place is resilient and can hold up in the event of another flood. -- synthesizing

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the day that can sweep away the old way of doing things. >> it makes my job easier. signing -- the streamlines everything where i have a computer system. so the city is challenging tech entrepreneurs to use the data and to remove the barriers between the government and the governed. data fromert raw actionable local knowledge. at the end of the day, citizens do not care about the data set. they care about the information about themselves, if i live here be nice to would know the median house value, but the violations are. we can give that kind of answer. >> dubbing the applications, using our data, they come and ask us, how about some more of

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this, more of that? as transparency increases. >> new york is making the virtual world work for the physical world. so the city that never sleeps can burn even brighter. >> that brings the program to a close. remember you can find all of our updates on our side. thank you for watching. i will see you back here tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank.

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>> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.